Flexible Display Suppression Portion for Crack Propagation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional flexible display devices are prone to cracking in the peripheral substrate, which can lead to defects in the display element portion due to stress concentration, particularly in the inorganic film within the TFT layer during manufacturing or use.
Innovation Solution
A flexible display device with a suppression portion outside the display portion, comprising suppression members made of the same material as the terminal or display element, strategically placed to prevent cracking progression from the peripheral substrate, thereby enhancing the device's reliability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If the inorganic film is provided inside the TFT layer in a conventional flexible display device, then the device structure is simplified and manufacturing is easier, but stress concentration occurs in the inorganic film during manufacturing or use, leading to cracking in the peripheral substrate that can expand to the display element portion
Solution Approach 1:
The device is segmented into a display portion and a peripheral portion, with the suppression portion specifically located in the peripheral region. This segmentation allows the peripheral area to be independently reinforced against cracking without affecting the display functionality, preventing stress propagation from the periphery to the display element portion.
Solution Approach 2:
The suppression portion acts as an intermediary structure between the flexible substrate and the inorganic film in the peripheral region. It serves as a stress-absorbing layer that mediates the mechanical stress, preventing direct transmission of cracking forces to the inorganic film and display elements while maintaining the overall device structure.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the flexible substrate is made highly flexible to enable bending, then the device can be bent and configured in various shapes, but the peripheral portion becomes more susceptible to cracking under bending stress
Solution Approach 1:
The suppression portion is selectively applied only to the peripheral region of the flexible substrate, not the entire surface. This local quality approach maintains high flexibility in the display area while providing targeted reinforcement in the peripheral area where cracking is most likely to occur during bending, thus resolving the contradiction between flexibility and reliability.
Data Source
AI summary
An organic EL display device provided with a display portion includes a flexible base material (substrate) in which the display portion is provided, an inorganic film provided on the base material, a display element portion that is provided on the inorganic film and is provided to form the display portion, and a suppression portion that is provided outside the display portion and suppresses progression of cracking that has occurred in a peripheral portion of the base material.